Owing to the tight schedule of both La Liga and UCL matches taking place week in and week out due to the World Cup matches scheduled to take place in late November lasting almost the whole month of December, a few important players such as Courtois are missing from the squad list.
The rivals, FC Barcelona after having a disappointing result earlier this week versus Inter Milan will also be looking forward to grasp a victory in the Clasico to clinch the first place in La Liga and boost their morale to produce better results which they desperately need to stay in the UCL.
Above things considered, it also becomes really important for Carlo Ancelotti to produce a net positive result in the El Clasico this coming weekend to be in a pole position as title contenders both in the UCL and La Liga. But how does Ancelotti aim to achieve this?
Quality and depth – A headache for Ancelotti?
In the midst of so many dicey and challenging fixtures, producing a good result in the El Clasico still remains a priority considering the amount of emotions of both the fans and the players that are related to it. With the fixture being so important and Real Madrid having already qualified for the UCL, it gives Ancelotti the liberty to go ahead with the best XI. So how can Real Madrid lineup against Barcelona?
Defence
The 30-year-old Belgian shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois who has been the star in many important fixtures both this and the last season keeping the team up and running in the later stages of the UCL is injured and isn’t expected to start as per reports from Marca and Relevo. The 23-year-old Ukrainian Andriy Lunin is expected to take his place in goal.
The solid duo of wing-backs – Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy are both expected to start. Although Rudiger has been seen training with the team and is also deemed fit to start by some news media, we will probably not see him taking the pitch, at least initially with the solid partnership of Eder Militao and David Alaba.
Midfield
The 36-year-old maestro Luka Modric is expected to grace the pitch and be the main protagonist in linking up plays, ensuring a fluidity of the game and transitioning from defence to offence from the middle of the park. Aurelien Tchouameni is also expected to start as the holding midfielder as he has already proved himself quite indispensable in that role.
The third man in midfield becomes tricky. Although having played a lot of good games already this season and having one of highest completed passes in UCL this season, Toni Kroos being 32, often fails to keep up with the tempo of teams executing a high line of press as has been seen in recent years. The younger Fede Valverde on the other hand is expected to give the team the dynamic edge that is required to tackle the high-pressing team of FC Barcelona.
ATTACK
The trio of Vinicius Jr, Karim Benzema, and Rodrygo Goes appear to have formed a connection so fluid that even if they don’t get the time to survey the pitch in the midst of opposition players, they always know where the other two are.
And the exquisite touches and passes they make amongst themselves while leaving defenders behind is not only a delight to see, but it also promises to be a significant element in determining the outcome of this next Clasico.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Barcelona: Lunin, Mendy, Alaba, Militao, Carvajal, Modric, Tchouameni, Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Benzema and Rodrygo.
The match will take place at exactly 16:15 CET on Sunday, 16th October at the Santiago Bernabeu, in Spain.
